Austrian
born economist, Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) went too far. He claimed
too much. The very title of his best known book, Human Action is testimony
to his overly ambitious claim. Economics, he believed, ought to be treated
as the science of everything--the science of all purposeful human action.
He wrote:

The
general theory of choice and preference. . . is the science of every kind
of human action. Choosing determines all human decisions. In making his
choices man chooses not only between various material things and services.
All human values are offered for option. All ends and all means, both
material and ideal issues, the sublime and the base, the noble and the
ignoble, are arranged in a single row and subjected to a decision which
picks one thing and sets aside another. Nothing that men aim at or want
to avoid remains outside of the arrangement into a unique scale of gradation
and preference. The modern theory of value widens the scientific horizon
and enlarges the field of economic studies. Out of the political economy
of the classical school emerges the general theory of human action, praxeology.
The economic or catallactic problems are embedded in a more general science,
and can no longer be severed from this connection. No treatment of economic
problems proper can avoid starting from acts of choice; economics becomes
a part, although the hitherto best elaborated part, of a more universal
science, praxeology. 1-P3.

Von
Mises called himself a liberal, but a great many conservative and libertarian
scholars, businessmen, and elected officials consider him their economic
guru. This is easy to understand since conservatives and libertarians,
whether they read his books or not, believe von Mises made an admirable
case for private property, capitalism as opposed to communism and socialism,
free trade, and for a minimum of governmental interference with business.
He wrote:

At no
time has there ever been a people which has raised itself without private
property above a condition of the most oppressive penury and savagery
scarcely distinguishable from animal existence. 2. P 61

Either
private ownership of the means of production, or hunger and misery for
everyone. 2. P88

But
he also wrote:

It is
not because of property owners that liberalism favors the preservation
of the institution of private property. It is not because the abolition
of that institution would violate property rights that the liberals want
to preserve it. If they considered the abolition of the institution of
private property to be in the general interest, they would advocate that
it be abolished, no matter how prejudicial such a policy might be to the
interests of property owners. 2. P30

Well
then, what was von Mises? Was he a liberal, or was he not a liberal? What
did the term liberal mean to him?

Liberalism
is not a completed doctrine or a fixed dogma. On the contrary: it is the
application of the teachings of science to the social life of man. 2.
P3.

What
science?

Liberalism
is derived from the pure sciences of economics and sociology. . .2. P88

One
cannot understand liberalism without a knowledge of economics. For liberalism
is applied economics; it is social and political policy based on a scientific
foundation. 2. P195

Did
von Mises' conception of liberalism have a goal?

The
ultimate ideal envisioned by liberalism is the perfect cooperation of
all mankind, taking place peacefully and without friction. Liberal thinking
always has the whole of humanity in view and not just parts. It does not
stop at limited groups; it does not end at the border of the village,
of the province, of the nation, or of the continent. Its thinking is cosmopolitan
and ecumenical: it takes in all men and the whole world. Liberalism is,
in this sense, humanism; and the liberal, a citizen of the world, a cosmopolite.
2. P105-106

Does
this mean von Mises had no respect for national boundaries and national
sovereignty? Did he mean world government?

For
the liberal, the world does not end at the borders of the state. In his
eyes, whatever significance national boundaries have is only incidental
and subordinate. His political thinking encompasses the whole of mankind.
The starting point of his entire political philosophy is the conviction
that the division of labor is international and not merely national. He
realized from the very first that it is not sufficient to establish peace
within each country, that it is much more important that all nations live
at peace with one another. The liberal therefore demands that the political
organization of society be extended until it reaches its culmination in
a world state that unites all nations on an equal basis. For this reason
he sees the law of each nation as subordinate to international law, and
that is why he demands supranational tribunals and administrative authorities
to assure peace among nations in the same way that the judicial and executive
organs of each country are charged with the maintenance of peace within
its own territory. 2. P148.

Would
liberals allow groups of inhabitants to withdraw their territory from
one country to join another?

The
right of self-determination in regard to the question of membership in
a state thus means: whenever the inhabitants of a particular territory,
whether it be a single village, a whole district, or a series of adjacent
districts, make it known, by a freely conducted plebiscite, that they
no longer wish to remain united to the state to which they belong at the
time, but wish either to form an independent state or to attach themselves
to some other state, their wishes are to be respected and complied with.
This is the only feasible and effective way of preventing revolutions
and civil and international wars. 2. P109

Did
von Mises believe that the supranational tribunals and administrative
authorities should be subject to any religious, moral or political restraints?

Praxeology
and economics deal with the means for the attainment of ends chosen by
the acting individuals. . . They apply to the means only one yardstick,
viz., whether or not they are suitable to attain the ends at which the
acting individuals aim. 1. P95.

All
moral rules and human laws are means for the realization of definite ends.
There is no method available for the appreciation of their goodness or
badness other than to scrutinize their usefulness for the attainment of
the ends chosen and aimed at., 1. P. 720.

Von
Mises frequently repeated this thought about the usefulness of the means
. It seems to me that this is just another way of saying that the end
justifies the means. To him religious and moral restraints were obstructions
that needed to be eliminated since they interfered with to the formation
of international economic and political policy. He wrote:

Liberalism
limits its concern entirely and exclusively to earthly life and earthly
endeavor. The kingdom of religion, on the other hand, is not of this world.
Thus, liberalism and religion could both exist side by side without their
spheres' touching. That they should have reached the point of collision
was not the fault of liberalism. It did not transgress its proper sphere,
it did not intrude into the domain of religious faith or of metaphysical
doctrine. Nevertheless, it encountered the church as a political power
claiming the right to regulate according to its judgment not only the
relationship of man to the world to come, but also the affairs of this
world. It was at this point that the battle lines had to be drawn. . .
.

If one
considers the peaceful cooperation of all men as the goal of social evolution,
one cannot permit the peace to be disturbed by priests and fanatics. Liberalism
proclaims tolerance for every religious faith and every metaphysical belief,
not out of indifference for these "higher" things, but from the conviction
that the assurance of peace within society must take precedence over everything
and everyone. And because it demands toleration of all opinions and all
churches and sects, it must recall them all to their proper bounds whenever
they venture intolerantly beyond them. 1. 55-56

Von
Mises offered values clarification as an alternative to Biblical Christianity
and its moral instruction.

Science's
contribution to life and action does not consist in establishing value
judgments, but in clarification of the conditions under which man must
act and in elucidation of the effects of various modes of action. It puts
at the disposal of acting man all the information he needs in order to
make his choices in full awareness of their consequences. It prepares
an estimate of cost and yield as it were. 1 P. 174.

Values
clarification is what the National and the Wisconsin Councils for the
Social Studies insisted that children be taught in school. Before values
clarification can effectively influence children's thinking, the behavioral
and moral teachings of their parents and churches must be challenged.
When this is done inexperienced and uninformed children must make up their
own moral code which means choose their values, and if possible, act on
them. They are offered absolutely no protection against slovenly, immoral,
vicious, and criminal behavior. They are denied the Ten Commandments,
the teachings of Jesus, and the experiences of past centuries.

A child
generally comes to school with what R. J. Havighurst calls an authoritarian
conscience acquired from his parents through a progression of punishments
and rewards. He soon learns that he is not equipped to deal with all the
new situations which confront him. Peers and teachers join and sometimes
supplant parents in helping him to find solutions which are often in conflict
with those offered by his parents. His task, then, is to change from this
early authoritarian conscience to a rational one. . .

Because
values occupy their central position in the value-attitude-belief system,
education can most effectively influence the behavior of students by influencing
the values they hold. 3. P. 43.

We assume,
however, that the perceptive, thoughtful teacher will, if he adopts the
suggestions given here, influence the student's values, his understanding
of the nature of values, and the valuing process he uses. 3 P. 44.

Traditionally
there was little question that the school should promote such values as
the following:

1.
Respect property, 2. Be respectful of adults, 3. Say please and thank you at appropriate times, 4. Do not use profane language or bad grammar, 5. Be neat and clean, 6. Do not lie or cheat.

Now,
however, in some situations these are quite controversial. Many lawsuits
and community controversies have focused on the meaning of 'neat and clean',
for example. Several recent surveys indicate that cheating in school,
rather than being unacceptable, has become the norm, and most students
feel no guilt about cheating. Standards of profanity are constantly changing
and words that one rarely heard used in public a few years ago are now
heard a great deal. While many may not like these developments, it is
very necessary for teachers to recognize that they are taking place. 3.
P. 45.

By claiming
the whole field of human action for economics Von Misses intruded on general
education, moral philosophy, religion, psychology, natural sciences, government,
and even personal friendships and family relationships. If economic theory
includes all of these areas, applied economic theory becomes an all-encompassing
effort to become the philosophical, religious, psychological, political
and personal compass for all human action. Those who call themselves social
scientists become our rulers. Legislators, judges, and national leaders
cannot be guided by constitutions or by the will of the people. We must
then forget self government in both our personal and our public lives
because it is not deemed by social scientists to be scientific. Social
experiments involving citizens and financed by government, such as busing
children away from their homes and neighborhood schools, are permitted
because social science must test its theories.

In the
final paragraph of Human Action , Von Mises wrote:

The
body of economic knowledge is an essential element in the structure of
human civilization; it is the foundation upon which modern industrialism
and all the moral, intellectual, technological, and therapeutical achievements
of the last centuries have been built. It rests with men whether they
will make the proper use of the rich treasure with which this knowledge
provides them or whether they will leave it unused. But if they fail to
take the best advantage of it and disregard its teachings and warnings,
they will not annul economics; they will stamp out society and the human
race. 1. P885.

How
is that for intimidation? If Von Mises were still with us, I would reply:

Ludwig,
we have no desire to annul economics or stamp out the human race. We know
that there are economic truths. We appreciate those who share them with
us. But we also know that it is impossible to live in peace with those
who trade Biblical teachings for values clarification and self chosen
values which could include lying, stealing, cheating, and bullying to
reach a social or personal goal.

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Much
of what you have taught is true and useful. However economic knowledge
that is true and useful was known long before social science as a religion
and a controlling force was birthed by August Comte in the mid 1800's.
There is no need to force us into a world system. We can trade with people
of other nations as friends and neighbors. So stop trying to frighten
and intimidate us and our elected representatives, judges, and national
leaders with the threat that if we do not support world government and
unrestricted immigration we will stamp out the human race. Ludwig, you
claim too much. There is no science of everything.

Erica Carle is an independent researcher and
writer. She has a B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin. She has
been involved in radio and television writing and production, and has
also taught math and composition at the private school her children attended
in Brookfield, Wisconsin. For ten years she wrote a weekly column, "Truth
In Education" for WISCONSIN REPORT, and served as Education Editor for
that publication.

Values
clarification is what the National and the Wisconsin Councils for the
Social Studies insisted that children be taught in school. Before values
clarification can effectively influence children's thinking, the behavioral
and moral teachings of their parents and churches must be challenged.